Now, I am not a firefighter, I have no special knowledge of fighting or preventing fires.

This is simply a product I saw in action during a fire and

realized how important it is to have in my own home.

I am cautious. I am a rule follower, and while I do have smoke detectors in each room,

I did not have a fire extinguisher at home...

even though it had been suggested numerous times by firefighter friends.

This summer I discovered why having a fire extinguisher in your home is so important. While at a party, we all noticed the lights start to flicker, and then heard the kids yell "Fire" and coming running out of the playroom. There were moments of disbelief, confusion, panic...and action.The fire was caused by a surge in power due to a faulty ground wire on the outside lines...it surged through the house (remember I am no professional...these are my simple words) and caught a surge protector on fire. The fire was small, and the kids were quick to respond and let us know there was a problem, and luckily these homeowners were very smart...they had a fire extinguisher in their home and it was easily accessible.

While someone else called 911, the home owner was able to grab the fire extinguisher and rush into the playroom and put the fire out.A simple home fire extinguisher was responsible for stopping that fire and saving the house.

So, do you know what I went out and purchased the next day...a fire extinguisher. It was only $15.00!

After this experience it made me wonder why I had taken so long to purchase this important and really inexpensive piece of fire safety equipment. These fire extinguishers are available at hardware and home improvement stores and while hopefully I will never need to use mine, I have a certain piece of mind knowing I now have it.Please consider:

Purchasing a fire extinguisher for your own home...and READ THE DIRECTIONS - know how to use it (the homeowner may or may not have first sprayed the extinguisher the wrong way)

EDIT/ADD: Be sure you have enough extinguishers for the size of your house. If you have a larger home, you may need to purchase 2-3 or more. For my own home, I feel that 3 would be good (one in the kitchen,one near the bedrooms, and one upstairs)

Check your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors regularly. I believe many suggest doing it when you change the clocks (which is coming up!).

Have a safety and escape plan in case there is a problem in your own home.

Be sure everyone in your family (especially the kids)know what to do in case of an emergency like this.

PLEASE READ THROUGH THE COMMENTS - READERS HAVE GREAT TIPS TOO!

This photo was taken after the "caution tape" came down. These kiddos enjoyed a "lighter" moment. But please do not think they did not learn a very important lesson that day and each parent that was at this party has used this as a teaching tool.

Just a couple of things to add1) Make sure your extinguisher is accessible! Yes, they're unsightly, but if it's hidden away your chances of putting out the fire with it is low2) Make sure you have your extinguishers serviced or replaced! The powder will settle to the bottle and they will be ineffective and offer a false sense of security3) If you can, take fire extinguisher training or buy a small one and test it out. I did this with work and I definitely feel more comfortable now if I did actually have to use one4) Make sure you have the right type of extinguisher. There are different types for different types of fires and some are actually worse to use on certain types of fires (oil, electrical, etc.) than nothing at all.

I totally agree -- we should all have at least one. The most important thing is to call 911 and get out, but an extinguisher can buy precious minutes for your family. My biggest tip (and biggest pet peave when I see design bloggers do this) is to never, ever, ever remove the gypsum from sleeping room walls to expose wood boards in older homes. The drywall can buy your family members up to thirty minutes to get out of the house. I am a fire survivor, and have a sibling who perished in a fire, so this is pretty real to me. Other tips would be not to hang curtains made from acrylic fibers, and to think about where you place candles (and acrylic is actually drawn toward a flame).

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